Spaced learning and FiT Roads

[Martin Cassini]

Pioneering headteacher, Paul Kelley (Monkseaton, North Tyneside), uses "spaced learning", a theory which shows that children get most out of lessons when they have plenty of breaks. The biological basis of memory (Scientific American, 2005, Douglas Fields) is a pathway of cells in the brain. To link up, cells need to be "switched on". Constant mental stimulation doesn't do it. It's the gaps that count. Spaced learning allows 10min gaps between three intensive teaching sessions of 15-20min. In trials, students who had a couple of hours spaced learning did as well as if they'd had two years' conventional teaching. In breaks, distracter activities such as reading or play leave the cells to carry out the chemical processes required to forge memories and fulfil the brain's potential. No doubt there's a parallel here with traffic control: freedom from its intrusions would purify concentration and cooperation, surely the best guides to action on the road.